Namaste to the Trees

“You’re swaying,” Jenna said to her big sister Elaine. Elaine was standing on one foot, with her right foot on the opposite leg and her hands in front of her chest, as if praying.

“I’m balancing.” Elaine responded peacefully, raising her face to the sun shining on the deck and bringing her arms up like tree branches. Jenna liked that Elaine never got mad at her. Sometimes big people got mad at her unexpectedly. “This is tree pose,” Elaine continued. “Want to try?”

Jenna was coloring in a picture of a cat with a ball of yarn. She was adding a rainbow of color to the fur. The yarn turned raspberry. Jenna pictured a sweater knitted of raspberry, and she smiled. She added some green to the background for trees. “Okay,” she answered. “I’m done with my picture.”

Jenna hopped up and down across the deck until she was facing Elaine. She lifted her knee and turned it out to the side. She rested her foot on the inside of her leg, and then she swayed as if she was in a high wind. She giggled and wiggled.

“Now you’re swaying like the trees,” Elaine smiled at her. Jenna looked over at the trees, and they were swaying just like the two girls.

“I don’t feel any wind,” Jenna said. Elaine winked at her. The sun rays split though the trees and arched down as if the sky were smiling down on them. The morning had a hint of magic in the air.

“Now we bow to the trees, and say Namaste.” Elaine bowed from the waist.

“What does Name-a-stay mean?”

“It’s a word we don’t have in English. It’s a word from India. It means the beautiful part of me bows to the beautiful part of you. Namaste, trees. Namaste, Jenna.” Elaine smiled her big sister smile.

“Namaste, Elaine. Namaste, sky and trees.” Jenna thought about how lucky she was to have such a great big sister.